Most Magical Girl
by Rapunzel24
Summary: Happily married, Newt and Tina give birth to their firstborn child- only to discover that their daughter is deaf. In pre-war England with Jacob and Queenie nearby, Newt and Tina's only daughter learns to navigate this world with two versions of sign language, a bunch of pastries and a whole lot of magic. ((categorized angst for future chapters))
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I had this idea just a bit back- what if Newt and Tina gave birth to a deaf child? I've ended my main Newtina fic only days ago but couldn't help myself. To be honest I actually already have headcanoned Newtina children so this one is a different ficverse entirely. I'm not deaf and not an expert on deafness either, so most research for thsi fic will be taken from the internet. If I get anything wrong or ofending, tell me immeadiatly.**

 **With that said, onwards!**

"Where do you think you're going?"

Newt Scamander spun around two steps away from the door, suitcase in hand. The Ministry official who he'd been waiting to talk to for two hours already had finally left his office, arms folded and glaring at Newt.

He could feel his tongue weighing down in anxiety and discomfort. If he'd try talking now he'd sound like a stammering fool; that occasionally happened during awkward or uncomfortable moments. Newt absolutely hated it, but he'd suffered through that condition for thirty-two years now and he wasn't going to grumble about it now.

The official coughed, glaring at him and tapping his expensive shoe on the polished floor. Newt suddenly realized the man was still waiting for an answer.

"Ah. Yes. I- I, um- well-" he _was_ stuttering. Blinking hard, Newt cursed himself for not leaving faster. "I was- just leaving, sir. I got an owl- um- My wife just went into labor and… well, I desperately need to be there for her."

"Then you can afford to stay for at least another hour." The official glanced at his watch. "Wives are forever exaggerating these sort of things. Trust me on the matter, I've had four of them."

Newt bit back a retort that maybe the man's attitude was the reason he'd had three failed marriages. "All the same, sir, I'll be leaving."

"What about the manuscript, if you may, Mr. Scamander?"

"With all due respect, sir, my wife and unborn child matter infinitely more to me than getting my second book published."

Newt ducked his head, turned away, and slipped through the door into the busy Ministry lobby.

Tina was waiting for him in the Delivery Ward of St. Mungo's, lying in a clean bed and breathing in little gasps of air. A nurse was by her side, waving a wand over a piece of paper and making little notes in scrawling handwriting. The nurse looked up when Newt rushed in and gave him a demure smile.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Scamander." She said, putting down her sheet of paper. "We've been waiting for you. Your wife seems to be doing well so far. Let's hope she'll remain that way throughout the delivery."

Newt nodded, a little out of breath. "Yes, sorry- can I sit with her?"

The nurse began to answer when Tina gave a shaky laugh. "You can ask me, you know, I'm not asleep."

"Right. Right, of course." Newt nodded and sat right down on the floor beside her bed, causing her to let out another quiet snort.

Tina's fingers drummed the side of the bed, letting out some of her pain. Frowning, Newt took her left and in his own right and let her hold it. She gave his palm a squeeze, crushing his fingers in a tight grip. Newt winced; his wife was rather strong.

It was a few hours later when Tina let out a little scream. The nurse immediately shooed Newt away from the hospital bed, blocking his sight as she quickly examined Tina's pregnant stomach and checked whether she was physically ready to give birth. Newt's fingers twitched with nerves, his fists clenched and unclenched, and his heartbeat was going crazy. He'd delivered maybe dozens of creature babies, each one healthy and functioning in minutes. This was so very different however- he was standing in a small hospital delivery room with a strange nurse and his birthing wife whimpering in pain. There was nothing in Newt's life that could have prepared him for this.

Queenie's words of advice floated through his head: _Stay calm for Teenie, hold her hand and don't even flinch if she crushes it, leave off the silly "you're fine" statements and talk to her about your future child_. Of course, Queenie was only guessing when she told him all that; she'd never actually given birth yet. Then again, she was the most qualified person for Newt to approach about the subject. Talking to Jacob about pregnancy would be like questioning a dog about Shakespeare. Newt wasn't judging. He was the same.

Gathering up his courage, Newt crept over to his wife and took her writhing hand. Tina's fingers stilled for a moment, then she started squeezing his hand stronger than ever. Newt ignored the pain. He knew Tina was suffering far, far more than he was and even complaining in his thoughts seemed disrespectful.

"Hey." He started speaking in a soft and low tone, the one he used on frightened creatures when he was trying to calm them. "Can you hear me? You don't have to listen to what I'm saying, just focus on my voice. You're doing great. You must be really scared. So am I, to be honest. I talked to Queenie, did you know? She was very patient. She told me that you're so very strong that this will be over soon and you'll have done wonderfully. Hey, what do you think it'll be like with a baby? Merlin's Beard, we're about to be parents..!"

He went on like that, rambling about babies and children and families and anything that came into his head as he crouched beside Tina's bed and stared at the floor, clutching her hand as though he would never let it go. There were other voices around him- healers, nurses, Tina's high-pitched shrieking. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was keeping hold of her hand until everything was safe.

It was what felt like hours later when a hand settled on his shoulder. Newt jerked away, leaning towards the metal hospital bed. The hand was attached to a tall healer with round glasses and a kindly smile.

"Son, you've been sitting in that spot for hours." The healer said. "Why don't you get up, perhaps wash your face in cold water?"

Newt's eyebrows furrowed, annoyed at this man's nonchalant behavior. "Sir, my wife is-"

He stopped talking in the middle of his sentence, listening. There was quiet, the only sound being soft breaths of a sleeping human being and a few hushed voices from the next room. Newt's eyes widened. He scrambled to his feet, leaning over the bed. Tina was lying there, asleep, sweat glistening on her forehead. She was in a hospital gown now and her stomach was noticeably smaller, a sheet draped over her from the torso down. She looked so peaceful Newt had to put his hand on her steadily rising and falling abdomen to make sure she was still breathing.

"She did it." He said, voice croaky from overuse. "She did it and I was too busy babbling to even realize."

The kind healer chuckled softly. "You did good, son. And so did she. Quite a fighter, that American witch."

"My wife." Newt said.

There was a silence. The healer (who had a nametag that read JOHNS, Newt now noticed) put his hand on Newt's shoulder again and firmly guided him to the nearby restrooms. Newt washed his face quickly and returned to Tina's side as quickly as he could, kneeling on the floor before Healer Johns handed him a stool.

A few minutes later, he spoke up again. "My baby- is it a boy, or-"

"-A girl." The healer finished his sentence with the answer. "A very beautiful baby girl."

Newt's face split into a beaming grin, and he covered his mouth to keep from laughing with joy. "A girl! Oh, Merlin's Beard, I'm a father! To a little baby girl!"

Tina stirred from her slumber, grunting slightly. She blinked slowly and moaned, raising a shaky hand to get her hair out of her face. Newt started and was swift to brush away the few strands of raven-black hair that were thrown over Tina's eyes.

"You did it, love." He whispered, fingers still delicately fondling her hair. "We have a daughter."

She groaned. "Thank the heavens that's over-"

Then she silenced. "A daughter?"

"A daughter. It's a girl, Tina."

Tina clapped her hand over her mouth in amazement, eyes widening and filling with happy tears. "Mercy Lewis, I never thought this day would ever come!"

They were both a bit damp-eyed and sappy and a little gushy, but none of the healers or people with them in the room seemed to mind in the slightest.

"Would you like to see your child?" Healer Johns asked from behind Newt's back.

Newt nodded, squeezing Tina's hand gently. "If we could."

The healer strode over to the door and yelled something out to the nurses in the other room. There was a muffled response, then a woman who was obviously part goblin floated through the entrance with a tiny baby in her arms. As gently as though he was handling spun glass, Newt took his daughter from the goblin nurse and held her to his chest.

"Hello, darling." He murmured, softly rocking the bundle of blankets that was his firstborn. "You won't remember this moment when you're older but this is it- you're part of the world now, love, and your mum and I have been waiting three years for you. Lord, you're the most wonderful thing that I've ever seen."

Tina sat up, wincing. "Are you talking to the baby?"

"Of course. She can understand every word I say, can't you, darling?"

The baby didn't respond, still sleeping quietly. Tina chuckled and reached out to her. Stooping over, Newt delicately passed the girl to his wife.

Tin stroked her baby's cheek with a touch as light as a feather, the newborn's skin smooth under her fingers. Everything about the baby girl- from her tiny eyelids to her miniature hands to her itty bitty mouth –was so absolutely charming that Tina had to fight back tears again.

"She's so beautiful." Tina breathed, gazing at her daughter with adoration. "Look at her, Newt, she's beautiful."

"She really is." Newt smiled. "She really is."

 **AN: this is my first time writing a delivery scene, so... it's not the best**


	2. Chapter 2

Tina and the baby were released home the following day, well-stocked with painkilling potions and an enchanted medical baby kit that Newt bought from a St. Mungo's healer witch upon their exit. The kit cost ten galleons and included a pile of potions and creams and strange booklets. Neither parent had any wish to inspect the products at the moment; they dumped the new kit on the kitchen table and immediately lay down for a nap (with the baby sleeping on Newt's continually rising and falling chest). The house was silent and peaceful, the only sounds being the steady breaths of two adults and a tiny newborn.

They awoke sometime late afternoon, around five, so Tina could feed the baby for the first time. Newt stretched and headed for the kitchen to make an early dinner. Outside the kitchen window, he could see the trees' shadows growing longer. It was now late August, and the heat was dying down considerably. The garden was beautiful this time of year; their daughter had chosen a wonderful time to be born.

The next few weeks were very calm and unexciting, usually one long stretch of silence occasionally punctuated by the baby girl's cries. Newt and Tina had decided upon her name- Lark –after the cheery little bird that sometimes nested in their garden and sang beautiful tunes. Queenie thought the name was lovely and reminded them of the symbolism of the name; the Lark was a joyful bird that represented happiness and fertility. They had a little party for Lark's name-giving, inviting Jacob and Queenie and Newt's parents and Newt's brother Theseus, who came with his wife and son. All invitees remarked on the child's sweetness (except for Theseus's little boy Mark. He was a right pain).

All through that time Lark remained a very quiet and passive baby, though satisfactorily curious quite often. She had very big brown eyes and soft, downy hair; all-in-all she was a beautiful and charming baby, even though her parents worried a bit about her absence of noise. They talked to Newt's mother about the matter and she assured them that Newt had been a very quiet baby as well and that there was nothing to stress about. That settled their nerves and left them much calmer about their mostly silent daughter.

And then the realization came when Lark was about three months old, and Newt and Tina were starting to get bored of their dull domestic routine.

It was a chilly November afternoon. Newt was out in the garden, tending the plants, and Tina was baking inside. Queenie had taught her to make cookies that went deliciously with jam, and they were a great success in the household.

There was a small thump; Tina turned to see Lark lying on her blanket on the floor (where she'd been set down) with a toppled book beside her. Lark seemed a bit shocked by the fallen object, and she stared at Tina with a surprised look on her little face. Tina laughed out loud and scooped her daughter up, hoisting her on one hip and returning to the kitchen to pop the cookies in the oven.

As soon as the crunchy pastries were in, Tina shut the oven door and sat down on a kitchen chair. Lark was perched on her lap, making soft cooing noises and brushing Tina's trouser legs with her tiny fingers. Tina bounced her knee a bit, making Lark yelp, and stopped instantly. They waited for Newt to come back from the yard.

Then there was a buzzing sound. Frowning, Tina stood up and peered through the kitchen doorway to see what was making that noise. It was the baby kit from St. Mungo's, propelling itself through the air with puffs of drained magic. She furrowed her eyebrows, confused, and then the kit started moving towards her and Lark.

Tina stumbled backwards a bit until her legs hit the kitchen chair as the baby kit jerked to a halt right in front of Lark's face. Tina gasped, but before she could do anything the kit let out such a loud noise that she squeaked without meaning to. Lark didn't even blink, staring at the kit as though it hadn't made any sound at all.

"Lark, sweetheart, are you alright?" Tina turned her daughter and looked into her eyes. Lark blinked slowly, unfazed by her mother's concern.

"Newt?" Tina raised her voice so that he'd hear her from the garden, eyes still fixed on little Lark's face. "Newt, can you come here? Quickly? Now?"

There was a little scuffle and Newt hurried in through the yard door, wrapped in a scarf with his blue coat on. He grinned at his wife and daughter, but the smile faltered when he noticed Tina's worried expression. "What is it, love?"

Tina sat down on the kitchen chair, cradling Lark to her chest as if the baby were in terrible danger.

"Remember that baby kit we bought at St. Mungo's when Lark was born?" she asked.

Newt nodded.

"Well, it just floated in here by some pranking spell and made a very loud noise right in front of her face."

"So?"

"So Lark didn't even respond to that noise, Newt, and I'm nervous."

Newt nodded again, fiddling with the edges of his yellow-and-black Hufflepuff scarf. He seemed to be thinking deeply. Tina tapped her foot on the kitchen floor as she tried to let out worried jitter.

"Okay." Newt said finally. "This doesn't mean anything- I mean- she could just be a very calm baby, sound-wise."

Tina raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

Newt sighed. "Fine. If you insist."

He leaned forwards and clapped his hands together right by Lark's left ear. Tina yelled and ducked away with the little girl, trying to protect the child's delicate baby ears. But Lark didn't turn her head or jerk from the noise; in fact, she seemed very surprised that her dad was even beside her.

Newt and Tina glanced at eachother, their worst suspicions practically confirmed.

Lark was deaf.


	3. Chapter 3

A week or so later two nervous parents and their confused baby daughter were sitting alone in a St. Mungo's waiting room.

Slightly bored, Lark kept banging her tin doll on her father's chair. Newt didn't mind; he held her on his lap and gently bounced her up and down as they waited. Tina sat beside him and impatiently fiddled with the fabric of her shirt.

The Healer's door opened and a man with a thick beard popped his head out. "If I could have a word with you two..?"

Newt and Tina got up immediately, Newt balancing Lark on his hip and heading for the Healer's office door with awkward strides. The little girl whined as her father bumped her into the office and awkwardly nudged the door shut behind him.

The Healer stood behind his desk and motioned for Newt and Tina to sit down before him. They did, glancing at eachother nervously before perching each on their assigned chair. Lark squeaked irritably and reached out for her mother, wriggling out of Newt's arms. He placed the baby in Tina's lap, scratching his palm out of stress. The office seemed to be far too silent and far too stuffy, both parents uncomfortable and worried.

"I've looked through your papers and test notes." The Healer said, finally breaking the quiet. "I understand you've done a few check-ups on Lark earlier today?"

Tina nodded. "Yes. Floor upstairs."

"Right then. I'm afraid the results are not very fortunate." The Healer rustled a few papers and waved his wand, a messily thick file floating up in his face and a pair of glasses drifting onto his nose. The man plucked the file out of the air and flipped through it, then coughed twice and tossed it on the floor. The papers flew all over, but seconds later got pulled together as if by some invisible magnet and reformed as a neat, fat case file.

"You mean that-" Newt asked, then trailed off mid-sentence out of despair.

"-Your daughter is fully deaf. Yes, that is the general result of her tests."

Tina tightened her grip on Lark until the baby yelped in pain and started crying. Newt, shaking off shock to care for his daughter, pulled her out of Tina's arms and hugged her close to his chest.

Letting out a shaky breath, Tina buried her face in her hands. She shook her head softly and then raised it again, eyes wide with a final hope. "Please, is there any chance- even the slightest –that maybe, maybe Lark might someday be able to hear..?"

"I'm very sorry." The Healer said, sounding mildly upset but calm; as though he'd dealt with this a few times already. "I doubt there is any remedy for Lark's deafness. Surely not in the Muggle world, and for now even we don't have any spell that can reverse so severe a case."

Newt swallowed a few tears, a lump building in his throat. His daughter, his beautiful singing Lark, would never hear her namesake chirp. She'd never hear the bellow of an Erumpent or the majestic flap of a Thunderbird's wings, never listen to a babbling brook or enjoy the noises of early morning. So many beautiful sounds that his precious Lark would never get to experience, and that broke his heart. And Lark gazed up at his with wet eyes and wobbling lip and confused look on her face; she didn't know why he was crying. For her, the world was naturally silent. She'd never manage to wrap her mind around the idea of hearing.

Tina's face lowered into her palms again and she started crying softly. She hated herself for it, of course; Lark was still the same wonderful child she'd always been, and her lack of hearing would never make any impact on the way Newt and Tina thought of her. But Tina couldn't _help_ it- this whole deal, this awful message that would change Lark's life and make her seem so strange and alien in some people's eyes –Tina had been there before, experiencing this same horror from the sidelines as she had years and years ago. This had once been Queenie, discovering her gift, and Tina wept slightly as she thought of Lark having to suffer the same dreadful things as Queenie had until she'd managed to control her talent. She wouldn't wish that on a living soul, and never in her deepest dreams would she wish it on her own baby daughter.

They pulled themselves together, though, remembering where they were, and bid the Healer goodbye. He waved them off a bit forlornly, knowing their struggle. He'd seen it all before.

Newt, Tina and Lark left St. Mungo's in silence and headed home without speaking a word.

"Oh, Teenie, what's wrong?" Queenie asked as soon as Tina inched her house door open.

It was eight o'clock that night, and Tina had just hurried down the dirt road she and Newt's house bordered. It was a dusty lane embedded with occasional rocks, and rather chilly now that it was November. Usually it was frightful to go out there at night because of the cold and darkness, but Tina was desperate to talk to her sister and Queenie's and Jacob's house was ten minutes down the road. She'd rushed up to the front door, knocked and cracked it open.

Queenie waited for an answer, then glanced behind her in the middle of her cooking. Tina was peeking through the slightly open door, looking very troubled. Of course, Queenie already knew that; she could sense Tina's general distraught as soon as she'd reached the front door.

Tina bit her lip and slipped inside, letting the door shut behind her. The Kowalskis' sitting room was warm, cozy, and very buttery-colored. A flickering fire across the room gave off a different vibe from the Scamanders' one back at their house; while theirs' was distinctly rustic and woodsy, this one was very hot and cushy. Tina didn't find it any nicer than her own one at home, but the whole room was a very comforting sight after her cold walk outside.

Queenie was in the kitchen, where a few oil lamps gave off a faint and homely glow. Tina rubbed her hands together as Queenie gave her cooking pot one last stir and turned around with a smile.

"Ah, Teen! You look a right ice cube, your nose is perfectly red. Sit here to thaw out for a bit and I'll get you some hot cocoa, all right?"

Tina allowed herself to be led to one of the yellow-brown couches and sat down, staring into the crackling fire in front of her and slowly tugging off her gloves. Queenie bustled around in the kitchen for a moment and then came back with two steaming mugs of chocolatey comfort, sinking onto the sofa beside her and handing her one of the mugs.

"Here you go." She beamed, curling her feet up beneath her. "Cheer up, Teenie, I told you havin' a baby would be hard. I'm kinda fearing it myself-" she grinned widely and patted her slightly swollen stomach, "-but I'm sure it ain't that bad."

Tina gritted her teeth, reminding herself that Queenie had no way to know what had been discovered.

"Lark is deaf." She said, in a tone so low she could barely hear herself.

Queenie blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I told you Lark is deaf, Queenie, what did you think I said?!"

The blonde witch quietened, eyes wide in shock.

"Oh, Teenie." She whispered. "I'm so- I should have- did you-"

Tina shook her head exhaustedly, hand tightening around the handle of her scalding china mug. She didn't have the energy to get mad anymore, or rant, or cry, or yell at the sky for taking the gift of hearing away from her baby daughter. She just slowly leaned backwards until her head met the couch rest and stayed there, staring emptily into the fireplace and trying to erase the world around her.

Queenie wouldn't let her.

"Snap out of it, Tina." She said, sympathetic but firm. Tina blinked, taken by surprise at Queenie's use of her proper name. "You can be upset but don't do this- you gotta be strong and accepting for Lark. And that starts here."

Tina let out a long breath and then nodded, head throbbing with each up and down. Tired, she said: "Fine. Fine, okay. You're right, Queenie, I just-" she gestured hopelessly, "-don't want her to suffer like you did when you were young. I still remember, Queenie, and it hurts."

"It won't be like that, honey." Queenie used the nickname she usually reserved for Jacob or others. "I promise you- Lark ain't gonna have a hard time. She's got your strength and Newt's courage. I'm tellin' you, Teenie, she's gonna be the most magical girl in all of England."


	4. Chapter 4

Tina left the Kowalski household an hour later, making her way home as fast as she could with a pot of steaming stew from Queenie in her hands. The road was even darker than before and Tina almost tripped up a few times, but she managed to get back to her house without hurting herself or spilling a drop of soup.

The door was shut but not locked; she nudged it open with her shoulder and kicked it shut behind her. Almost yelling, Tina caught herself thinking she'd wake Lark with all the racket. Then she remembered the reason she'd even gone to Queenie and let herself raise her voice: "Newt?"

"Yeah, here!" he called back from their bedroom, poking his head out of the doorway.

She plopped the pot down on the kitchen counter and slumped on a chair, nodding towards it. "Stew. Queenie made more than enough for her and Jacob so she gave me some. I think she thinks we're going to sink into pits of despair now that… Lark's been classified. Not that we're going to. But you know Queenie."

Newt nodded, still only visible from the neck up, then seemed to be getting up off the floor. He stretched and joined Tina in the kitchen, lifting the pot lid to smell the stew and smiling at the familiar scents.

"Meat and carrots," He remarked, setting the lid down again. "Like always."

Tina reached out and set a finger on the pot's scalding surface, ignoring the heat.

"Newt." She said quietly. "I wanted to talk."

"About what?" he frowned, looking concerned.

"You know. Lark."

"Ah." He sat down across from her at the table, immediately fiddling with the oilcloth covering the wood. "Right. Of course."

"I just wanted to make sure that… we both know what we're going to do."

"We do, Tina. We're going to love her and raise her exactly as we were planning to."

She cracked a smile. "Well, naturally. But spells, Newt, and magic and Hogwarts rules and family and songs and dangerous areas and air raids-"

"-We'll protect her, we'll teach her. We'll do everything we can, I swear." Newt reached across the table and took Tina's hand. "Lark will be as amazing as she is and wants to be, I can guarantee it."

Sighing, Tina closed her eyes. "I hope so, Newt. I really hope so."

But nothing was as easy as they told themselves it would be.

Newt rarely left the house anymore, spending all the time he could teaching Lark how to understand the world without hearing a sound. She was a remarkable little girl and he was a gentle and patient teacher, but she was still deaf and a baby and everything took time. Tina dropped out of work as well and spent _her_ time in St. Mungo's, talking to Healers and researching Lark's condition. She knew deafness was quite common and there wasn't anything to do about it, but it was still important to her to know about it and how it affected her daughter.

This research had some downsides, however; the main one being a huge loss of income for the household and a drastic drop in their economical state. When Tina noticed this she tried to get her job back, but the Auror office of the Ministry refused to accept such fickle conditions of work and she came home empty-handed. Now, with one parent unemployed and one parent struggling to find a proper field of work, the family suddenly had to make do with less food and less new clothes.

Another downside to Tina's extensive research was what she found out. At some point, she came across a page in one of her books that stated the fact that deafness could be caused by a deaf family member, not necessarily a mother or father; after questioning Queenie and her own memory, Tina recalled a distant deaf uncle. This news was disturbing and depressed her a great deal as she struggled with self-blame for a week or two.

It seemed that for the next few months, not a person in the house wasn't dismal or upset most of the time.

"What about your manuscript?" Tina suddenly asked one freezing February evening, as Newt tucked Lark up in blankets and tried to stoke a coal fire from a few chars of ashy wood.

Knitting his eyebrows, Newt glanced at her. "I published it, Tina, remember? Just before our wedding."

"No, not that one," Tina said and waved her hand in frustration. "I meant the one you were planning to publish the day Lark was born."

"Oh, _that one_. Hmmm. I told myself I'd get it published after Lark grew up a smidge, but…" he shrugged and went back to lighting the fire.

Tina sighed. "You deserve to get it published, Newt, after all you worked to write it."

"We don't really have the money to get a good publisher."

"Get the public one."

"I tried it a month or so ago, they're up to their ears in other written works." Newt said, then added in a lower tone: "And none of them were eager to work alongside me."

"What?" Tina demanded, scowling. "Why on earth wouldn't they want to work with you?"

"Our reputation has rather gone to the dumps, Tina, and I really don't mind the least but it _does_ affect the publishing committee."

She bit her lip to keep from shouting with anger. Not at Newt; at the Ministry, for turning a blind eye to their struggles and then abandoning them for it. She wouldn't accept money, or course, she hadn't from Queenie either- but if they'd only let Newt get his _damn book published_ the whole family would be in a much better situation.

"And we can't get a private publisher, like I said. Those are mighty expensive." Newt said, cutting off her train of thought. "But it doesn't matter much, that manuscript would never sell anyway and I'm better off finding a job that gets us somewhere."

He turned away from her and stabbed at the smoldering ashes in the fireplace, ending the discussion.

The situation went on like that until the end of March, the chill eventually lessening and making the Scamanders' struggle more of hunger than of cold. April was a long month of aching stomachs and hopelessness. And then, all of a sudden in the beginning of May, a letter addressed to Newt slid under the door and onto the floor. Tina noticed it a few minutes after it arrived and plucked it off the cold floor, Lark balanced on one hip as she flipped the envelope over and checked the return address.

"Newt, there's a letter here for you with no return address or sender!" she yelled into the house.

A mild crash, then Newt stumbled out of the bedroom to take the letter. He glanced at the envelope for a second, then carefully tore it open and pulled out the paper inside. Then Newt gave a little choke and began reading the letter with a look of confusion on his face, eyes widening by the moment.

"What does it say?" Tina questioned, curious. "What is it, Newt?"

He handed her the letter, still slightly speechless. Unfolding it, Tina read every word while mumbling under her breath:

 _Newt,_

 _I understand from my coworkers at the Ministry that you and your wife Porpentina have hit a slight roadblock in your economic status these past few months. That is, of course, highly unfortunate and I've been waiting weeks now in hope that you'll manage to get up on your own two feet once again. But I see it's been several months since we last spoke and your family is still struggling, so I've come to a decision that something must be done._

 _Enclosed is a form I've written out to help Porpentina get her job back, and I'm entirely certain my influence and credentials with be suffice to land her the proper position. Hopefully you, as well, will heed my repetitive requests and find yourself some proper work; I'm sure the Ministry will gladly be of assistance to help you figure out your job demands._

 _If I am correct, Lark is nearing eight months old. I'm sure she is a very sweet and well-behaved child. I am planning to visit you in the near future- do you suppose she'll remember my face and voice?_

 _And thus is sign off, but not before adding that you'll find a few supporting pound bills folded in the envelope; it is but a sum to tide you over until your job payment comes in._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Theseus_


	5. AN

Hey guys!

I'm so sorry about my inactivity recently. I've been struggling with MOUNTAINS of Writer's Block and a lot of insecurity about my writing, and I seriously considered giving up fanfiction because I feel what I write is very poor quality. But I'm gonna keep dragging on! So this fanfic is going to be in a little hiatus, so give myself some time to try new ideas and work on new chapters. I've been reading some of my old writing here and I really have improved (and by improved I mean that once I was utterly horrible at fanfiction), so I hope that I still get better as I go along.

Thank you so much for your support, and hopefully I'll be updating very soon!


	6. Goodbye

Hey, guys.

I'm writing this to let you know I will not be updating or adding to this story again. Not now, not ever.

Writing and publishing my fanfiction on this site was a meaningful part of my life, but it provided a lot of stress and I have decided to stop doing so. I probably will not be writing any fanfic at all any more, apart from specific fandoms and ideas that don't make me uncomfortable.

A lot of my fanfics are very hard for me to reread, but I will leave them up in case anybody might ever still want to read them.

Thank you all so much for being part of my growing experience as a writer. If you would be interested in my original, non-fanfiction writing, my Wattpad is teacalligraphy- you may recognize some fanfics I posted there a while back and left up for the same reason as I left them up here.

Yours Truly,

Kiwi (Anna)


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